Reenforced edge for hat brims



July 17, 1934. F. T. .sIAcK ET AL REENFORCED EDGE FOR HAT BRIMS Filed Nov. 23, 1952 INVENTORY flan/ TSzac/e .z

JZa/zrz 67,5172 6672/ #ITIPWIIIIIIA A TTORNE Y Patented July 17, 1934 f REENFORCED EDGE FOR HAT BRIMS Frank T. Stack and John C. Smith, Norwalk,

Conn, assignors Delaware to America, New York, N. Y., a

Hat Corporation of corporation of Application November 23, 1932, Serial No.'644,026 3 Claims. (01. 2-178) This invention refers to felt hats and more particularly to the formation of a reenforced edg on the brims of such hats. The primary object of the invention is to provide invisible means for holding down, by stitching, the folded-over annular edge portion of the brim and a manner which will require a relamethods, however, are more orless objectional as the annular row of stitches is usually left exposed or otherwise poorly constructed, which in some instances serves to injure the felt.

In securing the folded edge portions of the brim together, in accordance with our invention, we do not employ what would be regarded as a through-and-through stitch, but employ a seam which goes through adjacent face portions of the brim only, and in a way to be entirely covered when the edge or outer portion of the brim is folded over and down.

In order that the invention may be fully understood, we have endeavored to represent in the accompanying drawing by a series of fragmentary illustrations the several steps in the process, and will next proceed to describe the same in detail.

In the said drawing, similar characters of reference will be found to designate like or corresponding parts of the hat body in process, and wherein Fig. 1 shows a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale of a portion of a hat, its brim and edge, as produced in the manufacture of a hat preparatory to the operations of reenforcing the edge of the brim in accordance with our invention.

Fig. 2 shows a further sectional view illustrating the novel manner in which the brim, shown in Fig. 1, of the hat is folded for stitching the two abutting top face portions of the brim together;

Fig. 3 shows the next operation of folding the stitched edge portion back on the top face of the brim to formulate a reenforced edge, in accordance with our invention;

Fig. 4 represents a somewhat similar sectional view illustrating the completed reenforced edge after being trimmed and pressed;

Fig. 5 illustrates a perspective view of a soft fur hat formed in accordance with our invention;

Fig. 6 is somewhat similar to Fig. 1, though illustrates a slight modification wherein the edge portion of the hat brim is shown turned in under the brim, as the preliminary operation, instead of up, in and over, as shown in Fig. 1; and

' Fig. 7 shows a further fragmentary sectional view of a hat brim having a reenforced edge formed in accordance with the preliminary operation disclosed in Fig. 6.

Our improved process of reenforcing the edge portion of the hat brims is practiced after the hat has been blocked, pounced and ironed, and just prior to being trimmed. At this stage in the manufacture of a fur hat, the brim portion is relatively wider than that of the brim of the finished hat and has a comparativelyuneven edge. This edge is obviously pliable and may be readily folded inward, as shown in Fig. 1, as a preliminary step of our process. 'This first operation upon the brim, as practiced in our preferred form of the invention, is clearly illustrated in Fig. 1, wherein said turned-in brim portion is indicated as 10, the brim proper as 11, and the crown portion of the hat as 12. At this stage in the process, the hat band and sweat band have not yet been attached.

The next step in our process is that of closing the annular folded portion 13 together, bending it down and deflecting the annular edge portion 14 outward as shown in Fig. 2, preparatory to the stitching operation whereby a row of stitches 15 is applied as indicated in Fig. 2, and which serves to draw the adjacent annular bent edges 1616 of the brim together, the stitching 15 being applied through adjacent portions of one side of the fabric so as not to show on the opposite side and whereby the said stitches will be entirely concealed when the outwardly deflected edge portion 14 of the brim, as shown in Fig. 2, is turned in upon the flat surface 11 of the brim, as indicated in Fig. 3.

The annular edge portion 18, see Fig. 3, of the member 14 is next trimmed off to provide a finished edge 17, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, which determines the width of the finished reenforced portion of the brim. After the edge portion of the brim has been turned in and is trimmed oif, as indicated in Fig. 4, it is then neatly ironed down, to be permanently retained in position by the line of stitching 15 applied between the two adjacent inner surfaces of the reenforced edge of the brim.

In view of the foregoing description of the preferred process of forming a reenforced edge on a hat brim, it will readily be seen that a preliminary reversal operation of the edge portion of the brim may be performed, as indicated in Fig. 6, wherein the edge portion 10 of the hat brim is turned in under to form a fold, instead of in over, as indicated in Fig. 1, in which case the next operation would be that of deflecting the fold upward and the edge portion outward in a reverse position from that shown in Fig. 2, and whereby the line of stitching would be applied through the undersurface of the brim instead of the top face, as shown in Fig. 2. In this modified form of the invention, a substantially similar reenforced edge is produced in a manner to include a concealed stitch for holding the folded-in portion of the brim to the main body of the brim, though in this instance as before suggested, the reenforcernent will lie on the underside of the brim, see Fig. 7, instead of on the top side, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. In this respect it will be noted that in both instances the stitches are not visibile, being entirely enclosed by the uncut and imperforate outer surfaces of the reenforced edge, yet serve to hold the annular overlapping edge permanently in position.

We make no claim to, and disclaim from the scope of the appended claims, reenforced edges of brims of felt hats, and particularly make no claim to, and disclaim from the scope of the appended claims, reenforced brim edge of the types disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States #1,791,461.

Having thus described our invention what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In the manufacture of hats, the process of producing a hat body of felt having a reenforced edge formed of two plies of material, which consists in folding in the annular edge portion of the hat brim, then bending part of said edge portion in a way to form an annular fold, and disposing the annular edge outward and the fold at substantially a right angle to the face of the brim, stitching together the adjacent annular folded portions with the stitches passing through the surface only of the fold, then turning the outwardly disposed edge in upon the brim in a way to cover the row of stitches and form an edge portion of two thicknesses of material having outer imperforate surface portions.

2. In the manufacture of hats, the process of producing a hat body of felt having a reenforced edge formed of two plies of an integral piece of material, which consists in folding in the annular edge portion of the hat brim, then bending part of said edge portion in a way to form an annular fold, and disposing the annular edge outward, leaving the fold disposed to one side of the face of the brim, stitching together the adjacent annular folded portions with the stitches passing through the outer surfaces only of the said adjacent folds, then turning the outwardly disposed edge in upon the brim in a way to cover the row of stitches and form an edge portion of two thicknesses of material having outer imperforate surface portions, next trimming off the edge of said inwardly disposed portion, and ironing said edge portion in a way to cause it to lay snugly upon the brim.

3. In the manufacture of hats, the process of producing a hat body of felt having a reenforced edge formed of two plies of the same material, which consists in folding in the annular edge portion of the hat brim, then bending part of said edge portion in a way to form an annular fold, and disposing the annular edge outward and the fold at substantially a right angle to the face of the brim, stitching together the adjacent annular folded portions with the stitches passing through the surfaces only of the fold, then turning the outwardly disposed edge in upon the brim in a way to cover the row of stitches and form an edge portion of two thicknesses of material having outer imperforate surface portions, and in trimming off the edge of said inwardly disposed portion.

FRANK T. STACK. JOHN C. SMITH. 

